Redemption
by yuki gackt
Summary: Derek has a lot to deal with: missing pack members and the alpha pack. Add to that, a newly turned Jackson. As Derek helps Jackson control his wolf, they grow closer. But pride, their past, and other obstacles get in their way. When more sinister plots are revealed, can they make the necessary choices to find each other in the end? Derek x Jackson / OC x Jackson
1. Chapter 1

Finally! My Jerek fic sees light. I've had the idea for this fic since pretty much the end of season 2. Did a rough outline, procrastinated, then found out Jackson wasn't coming back for season 3 and almost scrapped it. =( But it wouldn't go away, so here it is. The fic picks up from a few days after the finale of season 2. Hoping to finish before season 3 starts...not likely tho...based on my track record. XD

Rating will probably change to M sometime...will let you all know...

Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Wolf or anyone in it. If I did, I'd be busy having way too much fun doing _other stuff_. ^_~

* * *

**Redemption**

**Chapter 1**

Jackson stared aimlessly at the ceiling. He was lying on his bed, alone in his darkened room. Well, he finally got what he wanted. He was finally a werewolf. He should be happy. Except that several people were dead because of him. When his wolf defeated the Kanima, all of its memories that had been hidden from Jackson came flooding in, every single kill. And the guilt was eating him alive. Jackson tried to shut it out, but no matter how hard he squeezed his eyes shut, their faces kept flashed in front of him. He saw the fear in their eyes and the sharp poisonous claws tearing them apart; he heard their screams. That certainly hadn't been part of the plan. He had thought it would be so easy: get the bite from Derek, turn during the full moon, and have unimaginable strength to be able to put Scott McCall in his place. How very wrong he was…

Instead, Jackson turned into something that he couldn't control, which was probably the worst thing in this whole fiasco. He had lost control of himself. And he had so little of it to begin with; at least, that was what he believed.

He tried pathetically to handle it himself, but in the end it was McCall – no, in the end it was _Scott_ and his side kicks and worse yet, Derek and his side kick, who ended up coming to his rescue. And Lydia...Jackson owed her everything. Even after the way he tossed her aside in his chase for glory, she still saved him, still cared about him.

Thinking about all those people brought his mind back to his other dilemma. What was he going to do now? What can he do? How can he possibly face them after everything? On top of the guilt, he felt completely embarrassed, humiliated, devastated… Oh God... Jackson ran his hands over his face, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to close everything out. He didn't know what felt worse, the humiliation he felt over turning into the Kanima, or the guilt for killing those people. He knew which should make him feel worse, except that as usual, he put himself first. He couldn't help it. Humiliation and embarrassment trumped guilt. He was still the same selfish asshole after all.

Unable to face anyone, Jackson had been skipping school for over a week. He knew his parents were worried about him, but they sensed enough not to pressure him into going. Scott had come by once and Jackson practically flew into a panic, hiding in his bathroom until Scott gave up knocking and left. Out of everyone, Scott was the last person he wanted to see. After the way Jackson had treated him, Scott still wanted to help him. And it killed Jackson knowing that. Because he knew that if the roles were reversed, he wouldn't have lifted a finger to help Scott unless there was something in it for him.

Danny had called him what seemed hundreds of times, so much so that Jackson turned his phone off. He also came over religiously every day after practice, but Jackson had his mom send him away each time. Danny knew something big had gone down, but he had no idea what, didn't understand why Jackson wouldn't see him, talk to him. And yet, Jackson couldn't see him because he was a stark reminder of what he had been. God...he almost killed Danny. That memory had hit him like a freight train. That fucking asshole almost made him kill Danny. And with that thought came the anger. Anger at Matt who was really at the root of all this. It was all his fault!

In a rage Jackson picked up a random item from his nightstand and threw it blindly, without aim. Hearing glass break, he pulled himself up and walked to his desk. A framed picture of Lydia had fallen to the floor. She had put it on his desk when they first started dating. He didn't even realize he still had it.

Lydia had come by a few times and was the only one who was granted entry to his house. It was probably because she saved him, but she was the only person he could stand seeing without the embarrassment overwhelming him. He was actually able to talk to her. And it wasn't like the way they used to talk, but really talk. It was almost therapeutic. But even still, he couldn't admit all his deepest, darkest feelings to her. And while they both admitted to still caring a lot about each other, they decided to just remain friends. It was clear to both that they only dated because each was the most popular at school. And while Jackson had found Lydia physically appealing, there was never really any real attraction.

Jackson slunk back to his bed, mind wandering to yet another dilemma, the biggest one. The full moon was coming up in a few days and he was scared of what was going to happen when he turned that night. He couldn't control the Kanima, what made him think he could control the wolf in him? Jackson thought back to when he had asked Allison out to make Scott jealous. He remembered the night when they were in his car and someone tried to attack them. He remembered finding the claw and figuring out that their attacker had been Scott. If even Scott wasn't able to fully control his wolf, how could Jackson? What if he went and attacked someone? How many more people were going to be added to his body count? And he couldn't possibly stay home. What if he attacked his parents?

Why the hell did he ever think becoming a werewolf would be a good thing? Jackson had wanted this so desperately all because Scott was one and was stronger than him. All because he needed to feel he was in control all the time. The need had consumed him. But instead, he turned into something that was controlled by a crazed murderer and used to kill people. Jackson hung his head and wished desperately it never happened. He wished that he could go back to the way things were...back to when he was normal. He wished that this could all be over.

* * *

Scott glanced at the empty stool behind him as he sat in chemistry class and saw that Jackson hadn't come to school, again. He was worried about what was going on with Jackson and wondered how long it would be before he was willing to talk to someone. Someone other than Lydia that is. Stiles said that Lydia had told him that Jackson he had just been staying at home and that he was dealing with it and just needed time. While Scott could only imagine what Jackson was feeling, he needed to get some help fast. The full moon was just a few days away and it would be Jackson's first. Someone needed to talk to him about how to try and control his wolf. What if he couldn't cope when he turned? And what if turning into the Kanima had somehow affected Jackson's wolf?

The bell rang and Scott rushed out the door with Stiles stumbling after him.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Stiles called.

"I gotta talk to Derek. Jackson won't talk to me, maybe he'll talk to Derek," Scott answered.

Stiles scrunched his brows and nodded slowly. "Yeah, uh huh. Jackson won't talk to you, or even Danny, but he'll totally talk to Derek...angry mean alpha Derek who scares the shit out of him," he said skeptically. "Totally makes sense."

Throwing his hands in the air, Scott replied, "I have to try everything. The full moon's just a few days away and as far as I know Jackson still has no clue of how to control his wolf. Unless, Lydia told you something otherwise."

"Nope." Stiles shook his head.

"Besides, Jackson might be able to ignore me, but Derek won't be ignored." Scott pulled out his phone and called Derek.

Derek answered after the fourth ring. "What?"

"Hey, um, listen. You need to talk to Jackson," Scott said.

"I need to what?" Derek asked incredulously.

"You need to talk to Jackson. The full moon's just three days away and he still has no idea how to control his wolf. You helped me and everyone in your pack, so you need to talk to Jackson." Scott braced himself for Derek's refusal.

"I don't need to do anything, Scott," Derek bit out. "I have two missing pack members and an alpha pack to look for. I am not taking on another one of your projects."

"But you have to, I mean, come on Derek," Scott whined. "Other than that mark on your house, you haven't found a trace of the alpha pack. Maybe they were just passing thru. And I thought you released Erica and Boyd from your pack. Why do you have to look for them?"

Derek sighed impatiently. "Because I'm pretty sure something bad happened to them that night that when we were dealing with Jackson and Gerard Argent because I can't feel them anymore."

"How do you know?" Scott asked. "They probably just left town."

"Even if a werewolf is released by his or her alpha, the alpha will still sense a connection until they join another pack, or become omegas, or..." Derek trailed off, leaving Scott to imagine the rest.

"They die?" Scott guessed in disbelief. "I doubt it, they're probably just too far away and aren't they omegas now? That's probably why you can't feel them. I'm sure they're fine, but Jackson will be in big trouble in a few days if you don't help him figure stuff out."

"Forget it, I'm not going to waste time explaining everything to you," Derek dismissed. "And I'm not going to talk to Jackson either. You know, I went to him before, after I realized he survived the bite. I felt him panic and I went to help him, but he completely blew me off. He didn't want to be in my pack then and I don't want him in it now. Jackson is an omega and he's on his own."

"Wait a second," Scott protested. "You know how he is. He's mostly just talk and he needs help now. What if he goes out of control and hurts someone?"

"Not my concern. I've got other things to worry about. You wanted to save him and I did my part in that. He's your problem now." Derek brushed him off and hung up before Scott could get another word out.

"Urrggghhh!" Scott gripped his phone so tightly he cracked the case. "Damnit!"

"No dice, huh?" Stiles asked as he rocked back and forth on his heels.

Scott didn't respond. He spotted Lydia and Allison down the hall and rushed over to them. "Lydia! Are you going to see Jackson today?"

Lydia pursed her lips and shook her head. "Probably not. I went over yesterday and I don't want to wear him out, you know?"

"But it's important. You need to tell him that he needs to talk to me," Scott urged.

"Look, I already tried. I told him that you could give him some advice on how to handle the whole being a werewolf thing, but he's just not ready." Lydia shrugged.

"The full moon is in three days," Scott exclaimed. "He has no idea what's going to happen. Why am I the only one worried about it?"

Giving him a look, Lydia said, "You have no clue, do you? He's scared to death of what might happen. Trust me, he's worried too, ok? You think he wants to hurt anyone else after all the people he's – you know!"

"That's why he needs to talk to me," Scott insisted. "I tried to get Derek to talk to him, but he said –"

"Wait a sec, you tried to get Derek to talk to him?" Allison interrupted. "Derek, who killed my mom and scares the shit out of Jackson?"

"That's what I said," Stiles chimed in. "The part about him scaring the shit out of Jackson...not the other…umm yeah."

"I didn't know what else to do," Scott defended. "He totally freaked out when I went to his house. I could hear his heart pounding, I thought he was gonna have a heart attack."

"Look, we've got a plan," Lydia said. "Allison and I found this place, we think it's the same spot Derek used to hide out in. On the night of the full moon, I'm gonna bring Jackson there and Allison and I will chain him up so he can't go anywhere."

Scott gave them a surprised look. "Why didn't you tell me? I mean, if I'm there, it might work and I'll ask Isaac if he can come too."

"No one told you because you're not invited," Lydia answered. "If Jackson knew you or that guy would be there, he wouldn't go. I know it."

"You two cannot handle him by yourselves. I mean you're just –" Scott stopped himself before he finished.

"Girls?" Allison finished for him. "I'm gonna bring my bow and plenty of arrows."

"Look, we've got it covered, so you can stop worrying ok? Later." Lydia turned on her heel and headed down the hallway with Allison following her.

"You're still worried, aren't you?" Stiles guessed.

"Yeah. Screw school." Scott took off out the doors and headed straight to Jackson's house.

When Scott arrived at the Whittemores' he could sense Jackson upstairs. Instead of knocking, he went around back and saw that one of the upstairs windows was open. Jumping up to the second story, he let himself in the house and walked silently through the hall until he found Jackson's door. He turned the knob and was surprised to find it unlocked.

Scott pushed the door open and called out, "Jackson? We need to talk; it's important."

Jackson sprang up from the bed in shock, having had no clue Scott was even in the house. "What the fuck are you doing here? Get out!"

"Look, I just want to help you ok?" Scott tried to approach him, but Jackson threw out his arms to keep him back.

"St– Stay away from me. I told Lydia I didn't want to see anyone. Didn't she tell you?" Jackson said frantically as he shook like a leaf.

Having had enough, Scott yelled, "You have no idea if you can control the wolf or not! Do you want to be responsible for more people dying?"

Stunned, Jackson's face blanched. It was worse hearing the words from someone else. Then his expression cleared and he said quietly, "Well maybe it's better if I'm just not around."

"What do you mean? Are you leaving Beacon Hills?" Scott asked, confused. "Your problems won't go away."

"No, I'm just going to let it be. Whatever happens, happens," Jackson said resolutely.

"What do you mean 'whatever happens happens'? Scott looked puzzled.

Jackson gave him a pointed look and then it hit Scott. He wanted the Argents to kill him. As the Kanima they weren't able to hurt him, but as a werewolf, he had plenty of weaknesses. They could kill him. "Wait a second! Gerard's gone and Allison's dad isn't the same as him. He's not just going to go around killing any werewolf he sees."

"But their main objective is still to keep people safe from werewolves and if I'm out of control and I attack someone, they'll have to take me out." Jackson said calmly, as if he had just found the solution to all his problems.

"Are you saying you want to go out of control? You want them kill you? No...no way. You can't do that. Your parents, your friends. A lot of people care about you ok. They'll be devastated," Scott beseeched him, hoping that he would see reason.

"They'll be better off without me," Jackson said with finality. "You'll all be better off."

Seeing Jackson's eyes harden with purpose, Scott realized that nothing he said would change Jackson's mind. He turned to leave, but not before he added, "Just so you know, I don't think I'd be better off if you were dead. And I know plenty of people who would say the same."

Scott left the house and took off running. What should he do? How can he stop Jackson from commencing his plan? What can he do? Scott did the only thing he could think of. He called Derek.

It took Derek eight rings to answer. "What is it now?" He practically growled.

"Jackson isn't my problem, he's yours!" Scott blurted out. "This is your fault! You gave into your urges and bit him. None of this would have happened if you'd just kept your mouth shut! You were the alpha, you should have had more control over yourself."

"So, you're blaming the whole Kanima fiasco on me?" Derek asked in slow measured words.

Realizing how angry Derek was, Scott said, "Ok, it's not all your fault. Matt's mostly to blame, and I know you wouldn't have bitten Jackson if he didn't want it. But it was _you_ who bit him and so _you_ need to help him." Derek was silent so Scott continued quietly and said the only thing left to say, "He wants to die. He told me so. He's just waiting for the full moon to come and he'll go out of control and make the Argents end everything for him."

Hearing an audible intake of breath, Scott's hopes were raised.

After a few moments of silence, Derek gave in, "Alright. I'll go talk to him."

* * *

A/N: I did not set out thinking it would be this angsty…but…yeah. Ok people…motivate me! I really wanna finish this before season 3 starts. =P


	2. Chapter 2

Woohoo! Managed to finish this before the weekend. Happy Friday all! =)

Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Wolf or anyone in it. If I did, I'd be busy having way too much fun doing _other stuff_. ^_~

* * *

**Redemption**

**Chapter 2**

Derek sat in the darkened ruins of his home as Scott's words replayed over and over in his mind. _"He wants to die."_ Derek could still feel the vice constricting his heart when he had first heard those words. He had almost believed that he didn't care about Jackson, but those four words proved just how wrong he was.

He was grateful that his uncle Peter chose that moment to interrupt his thoughts. "Hey, I know you're worried about Boyd and Erica, but you need to forget about them. They chose to leave your pack so they're no longer your responsibility. What's important now is to figure out why the alpha pack is in town and how to deal with them.

"I know and you're right," Derek agreed. But he still couldn't help but feel worried about them. The way their links were so abruptly severed, he couldn't help but feel worried. "I just can't help it, I just –"

"Well, I suppose you wouldn't be you if you weren't worried." Peter smiled sympathetically. "Did something else happen? I couldn't help but overhear – not that I was eavesdropping," Peter said defensively when Derek's eyes narrowed on him.

"It just that on top of everything I have to deal with, Scott's roped me into talking to Jackson." Derek ran a palm over his face.

"Jackson? Why would he want you to talk to Jackson? You helped save him, isn't that enough?" Peter asked.

"I said as much, but regardless of what happened, I'm the one who turned him so I need to try and get him through this full moon. If he hurts anyone, it would be on me too." Derek was resigned to his task.

"Hey, I know you never got along with him, so if you want, I can talk to him for you," Peter offered. "I've done my fair share of the whole transforming under the moon talks before...all this." He gestured to the burned out house.

Derek scoffed, "Yeah right, you talk to him?" He shook his head. "I'm pretty sure that it was you as an alpha that set the whole Jackson wanting to be a werewolf thing in motion. Remember? You completely freaked him out when you attacked him in that video store and then again when you showed up at the school."

Peter shrugged, "Both very unfortunate situations, but like I told you before, I wasn't completely in my right mind at the time."

"Maybe you should have killed Jackson at the video store," Derek whispered. "Then he wouldn't have been able to cause so much trouble. Why didn't you?"

"Now, now Derek," Peter said patronizingly, "You know you don't mean it. Not that I didn't want to at first. I was so close, the fear radiating from him was exhilarating, but then I couldn't. When I went to him, I could sense you, smell a trace of you on him. I saw the claw marks on his neck and even then, I knew he belonged to you."

"What are you talking about?" Derek looked at him, confused.

"You might have marked him by accident, but you still marked him," Peter told him. "And deeply too. I'll bet he was haunted by dreams of you. If you were an alpha back then and it was a full moon, I'd wager those marks would have been enough to turn him."

"Yeah, well I wasn't and he didn't," Derek deflected. "And even when he did turn, he didn't join my pack and now he never will."

"Really?" Peter arched a brow. "Have you asked him?"

"Of course not," Derek retorted. "_I_ don't want him anywhere near me. Not if I can help it. The only reason I'm even going to talk to him is so Scott will get off my case."

Peter looked unconvinced but didn't argue with Derek. He segued to another subject instead. "Since you have to talk to Jackson and only have a couple days to do it, why don't I try digging around for some information on the alpha pack."

"Sounds like a plan," Derek agreed disinterestedly and watched as Peter left the house just as Isaac ran up the steps.

"Hey…any word?" Isaac asked hopefully.

"Not a one." Derek shook his head. "I take it you couldn't find a trace of them either."

"Nothing. They are gone. Looks like it's just you, me and Scott." Isaac sat down across from Derek, looking depressed.

"More like you, me and maybe Scott," Derek corrected. "And…Peter…"

Isaac furrowed his brows. "Wait is Scott out? And can we even trust Peter?"

Derek squared his jaw and was silent for a moment. Then, he abruptly changed the topic. "How's it going at home? Your new arrangement."

"My grandma's ok. She doesn't do much. Doesn't ask many questions when I go out. So that's good." Isaac's grandmother had agreed to come live with him until he turned 18 so that he could continue to go to Beacon Hills High.

"That's good," Derek said. Then remembering that Isaac lived down the street from Jackson, he asked, "Have you seen Jackson at all since…that night?"

"Nope," Isaac shook his head. "Scott asked me too. I can sense he's in his house, but as far as I know, he hasn't been out. Why? Worried the Kanima might come back?"

Sighing, Derek rolled his eyes. "No, Scott badgered me into helping Jackson with the full moon. Apparently, I might be his only hope."

"Oh…well then, I guess I'll leave you to it. Let me know if you need me to do anything." Isaac turned to leave.

Not saying a word, Derek barely even noticed Isaac was gone as his mind wandered back to Jackson. He remembered the day when he saw Jackson for the very first time, the most gorgeous guy he had ever laid eyes upon. Derek had been looking for Scott and though there were other kids in the hallway, even through the haze of poison, he had been drawn to Jackson's beauty instantly. Then Jackson opened his mouth and Derek realized he was a tool.

Derek scoffed at his own shallowness, but admitted to himself that even after their initial meeting, he still found Jackson to be unbelievably attractive. Life was so unfair. And when he confronted Jackson in the locker room over a week later, it was all he could do not to strip Jackson's towel away and lean in for a kiss. He knew Jackson was frightened of him, and Derek reveled in it. He had wanted to dominate Jackson, even as he hated the fact that he wanted someone so selfish and vain.

Maybe that was why he bit him, Derek thought. To satisfy some secret urge to taste Jackson while trying to purge him from his system and this world. But even then, part of Derek had been glad and even a bit excited when he realized that Jackson had survived the bite and had anticipated bringing him into his fold.

When Derek felt Jackson panicking that day in school, he had raced to his side, determined to take care of whatever had frightened him. But then Jackson opened his mouth again and Derek realized that he was still a tool, just stronger and more annoying. And then Derek saw the black blood and couldn't help the fear that began pooling in him. Derek shook himself and dispelled his memories of all that had happened since before they could overwhelm him.

He had agreed to help Scott try to save Jackson from the Kanima because he knew that he needed Scott to join his pack so they could band together to survive the Kanima and the Argents. But after Gerard was defeated and Jackson was saved, Derek became determined to avoid him like the plague. He did not need to complicate his already complicated life even more. Except, he had just agreed to help Jackson again. Damn Scott and his inability to let things go. He should have made Scott swear to stay in his pack in exchange for helping Jackson again.

With Boyd and Erica gone, there was just Isaac left and even though Peter agreed to join and follow him, that still left Derek with only two pack members, one of whom he still didn't fully trust. Then a thought crossed his mind that maybe if Derek could get through to Jackson that he could bring him in as well, and Derek realized that even after all that had happened, a part of him still wanted Jackson. For no reason other than the fact that he did. God, he was weak. Derek quickly crossed that thought out of his mind...no complications. He'll talk to Jackson because the last thing they needed was more dead bodies and because while he and Chris Argent had reached a tenuous cease fire agreement, even the smallest thing could bring it down. And Jackson killing even one more person would definitely do it.

* * *

Derek sat in his car and watched as Jackson's mother left for work. Once he sensed that Jackson was alone at home Derek got out of his car. He walked up to the door and was about to knock when he thought better of it. Jackson would never answer. He walked around to the back and let himself in the same window that Scott had used earlier.

Walking down the hall, Derek knew immediately which door led to Jackson's room. It was locked, but Derek turned the knob hard and the lock gave. Pushing the door open, Derek greeted Jackson. "You know if you stay here, the first people you kill when you turn will be your parents, right?"

Jackson bolted upright in his bed, shocked to see a second surprise visitor that day. As he recognized Derek, it was clear that he was still scared of him. "Why...why are you here? What do you want?"

"Scott called me and called me and basically wouldn't stop pestering me until I agreed to help you get through the full moon. If it were up to me, I wouldn't care either way. Lose control or not, doesn't affect me," Derek said nonchalantly, as he projected an air of indifference. But on the inside, he was disconcerted at the sight of Jackson wallowing in the darkness of his room, so clearly disconsolate and depressed. Derek even missed his cocky smirks...almost. "You got what you wanted, you're a werewolf. Why the hell are you moping around like this?"

"You think I wanted this?" Jackson asked angrily. "To turn into some lizard freak and go around killing people? If I had known all this shit would happen, I never would have – I never would have asked you to bite me."

Derek just stared at Jackson, surprised at the fact that Jackson actually regretted wanting the bite.

"Just go away," Jackson said miserably. "You don't want to be here and I don't need your help. I have a plan."

"Really?" Derek moved to stand in front of Jackson and looked him straight in the eyes. "The only thing I _know_ you have is a death wish. But of course even when you want to die, you take the coward's way out. Your grand scheme is to let your wolf go out of control and hurt people to force the Argents to kill you. That's pathetic. If you want to die, go die. Do it yourself, but don't take anyone else out with you."

Jackson looked at Derek, considered what he said and realized that what Derek said was true. "You're right, I am a coward. God, I hate this. I hate myself. I wish I had the strength to kill myself. But I'm too scared. Like you said, I'm too much of a coward. Too bad you didn't do it when you had the chance." He smiled bitterly.

With those words, Jackson's admissions, Derek saw for himself that Jackson really did want to die. He felt a lump form in his throat when he realized that _he_ didn't want Jackson to die. He had kept telling Scott that they should kill Jackson when he was the Kanima and had even let Scott believe that he gave Jackson the bite in the hopes that he would die from it and maybe even tried to convince himself that was the reason he had done it. But now that he knew Jackson wanted to die, Derek realized that _he_ wanted Jackson to live. He finally admitted the truth to himself; Derek bit him because it was what Jackson wanted and Derek wanted Jackson to be tied to him forever. How sick and twisted was that?

Derek pulled Jackson up by his shirt and shook him. "Listen to me, giving up and dying is the real coward's way out. If you don't want to be a coward then you need to get a grip. Deal with everything that's happened and go on with your life. You need to learn a lesson from what happened and stop being a douche."

"What do you care? You hate me, remember? Why the hell would you care if I lived or died?" Jackson struggled to free himself, grappling to uncurl the fists gripping his shirt, but Derek held on fast.

Having completely lost his patience, Derek yelled at him, "Because I don't want you to die, you idiot!" Then realizing what he just admitted, Derek quickly added, "I just mean that since I'm the one who turned you, I don't want your death on my conscience. Not yours or anyone else's."

Dumbfounded by Derek's words, Jackson just hung in his grip and stared up at him, trying to process his words.

"The full moon is tomorrow night and I'm going to help you prepare for it." Derek said, his tone brooking no disagreement. "Do you understand? Do you?" He added one final shake for good measure.

Nodding, Jackson brought his shaking legs under him, finding the strength to support himself. "Ye – yes, I – I understand," he managed.

"Good." Derek released Jackson and took a step back. "You can start by going and taking a shower, you stink. And after that, you're going to school, got it?" He walked over to the curtains and pulled them back causing Jackson to cringe from the sunlight streaming in. "Got it?" He repeated.

He got another nod from Jackson.

"I'll come by after school and we'll get started." Derek turned on his heel and left the way he came.

As Derek got into his car, he found himself lingering for a few moments just sitting and staring at Jackson's window. He had managed to get through to Jackson. He shook his head as he caught himself still thinking about that idiot and swiftly drove off. They had two days to prepare for the full moon. Derek hoped it would be enough.

* * *

'Til next time! Please R&R =)


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews everyone!

This fic is moving along surprisingly quickly (for me) and I already know exactly how it's gonna play out…woohoo! Now to just make the time to type it all out… =_=

Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Wolf or anyone in it. If I did, I'd be busy having way too much fun doing _other stuff_. ^_~

* * *

**Redemption**

**Chapter 3**

Jackson remained where Derek had left him for several minutes as he digested what had just happened. "_Because I want you to live!_" Derek's words ran through Jackson's mind in a loop as he sat there. 'Derek wants me to live,' Jackson thought to himself. He didn't quite know why, but it made him happy knowing that. Sure Derek still thought he was an idiot, but he wanted him to live. And Derek was going to help him. For the first time since he had his first Kanima induced blackout, Jackson felt a sliver of hope.

Pulling himself off his bed, Jackson went into his bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he made a face at his reflection. He looked awful and Derek was right, he did smell. It was all the more noticeable with his newly enhanced sense of smell.

"I can't believe he saw me like this," Jackson muttered to himself as he stepped into the shower.

Leaning into the stream of water, Jackson absently thought about the first time he saw Derek. His face was completely pallid and he had looked stoned, and Jackson told him as much. But even looking like that, Jackson remembered thinking that Derek was totally hot. He was just too full of himself at the time to admit it.

When Derek had sunk his claws into Jackson's neck, he had no idea what it was. At first he thought the crazy guy just didn't care enough about personal hygiene to trim his nails, but it was certainly enough to make Jackson scared of him. Then the terrible nightmares started and the hallucinations even when he was awake.

The day that Derek cornered him in the locker room, Jackson thought he was going to… he wasn't sure what, but he was certain it would have been something terrible. But even then, even through all the fear, Jackson still remembered how good Derek had looked looming over him. And when Derek had leaned close, Jackson thought for a split second that he was going to kiss him. Idiot! He almost kicked himself for thinking that.

And then, once Jackson realized what Scott and Derek were, the real attraction started. Despite the fact that he was still scared shitless of Derek, he still couldn't help wanting him at the same time. Jackson shook his head. No, it was more like wanting to be what Derek was, attracted to the idea of being a werewolf, and not actually _wanting_ Derek. Right? Right.

Jackson remembered the satisfaction, the elation of finally getting what he wanted. And Jackson always got what he wanted. The fear was gone and his confidence had grown ten fold, probably more. But then the blood appeared. The black blood. And the fear returned. He vaguely remembered being amazed that Derek had appeared so quickly. But when Derek said something about Jackson being with him, he couldn't control his contrariness and lost whatever help Derek had been offering.

He wondered why he couldn't have just told Derek the truth. Because he was an obstinate idiot, he answered himself. Jackson hit his head against the tiled wall, stopping his thoughts before it went back to the really dark place Derek had managed to wrest him from just a short while earlier. Realizing he was getting pruny, Jackson got out and dressed for school. He hoped the day went by fast. But then remembering the full moon, he hoped the day lasted forever.

* * *

If anyone was surprised that Jackson showed up at school, he didn't notice. He was too busy trying not to crawl out of his skin from nervousness. No reptile related pun intended.

Danny didn't question him or press for answers about what had been going on the past few weeks. He only said that if Jackson ever wanted to talk, he would be there. And while Jackson was grateful, he knew revealing everything to Danny was out of the question. Jackson ignored any questions from anyone else. He even avoided eye contact with Scott during class and the lunch break. Derek told him to come to school, but he never said he had interact with Scott and his friends.

As the final bell rang, Jackson let out a sigh of relief. The day was done.

"Jackson!"

He heard his name called as he was walking towards the parking lot. Turning around, Jackson saw Scott running towards him. Part of him wanted to turn tail and run to his car, but Jackson forced himself to stay where he was. He had run enough.

"Hey!" Scott greeted him. "I'm really glad you came today. So did Derek…um…"

"Yeah," Jackson nodded. "He came by. Said you made him. So I guess I have you to thank for the Derek intervention?"

"I didn't make him." Scott gave him an awkward look and scratched the back of his head. "I just reminded him that he was the most qualified person to help you. Heh…yeah." He laughed nervously.

"Well, he said he'd be by after school, so I should get going," Jackson said awkwardly.

"Oh! Ok, good. Um, so I'll see you tomorrow?" Scott gave him a slight smile.

"Yeah, sure. Tomorrow," Jackson agreed. He turned and walked quickly to his car before anyone else could stop him.

On the drive home, Jackson thought about Scott. Why the hell did that guy want to help him? Jackson never gave Scott a reason to. He ignored Scott when he was still second string and was obnoxious and just plain mean when Scott was promoted to co-captain. Just counting the days until he would get the strength to take Scott down and be captain all by himself again. Why didn't Scott revel at Jackson's fall from grace? If the situation were reversed, Jackson would be taking full advantage of it. But Scott didn't. Instead, he and his friends tried to help Jackson. For the first time ever, Jackson felt actual gratitude towards Scott.

Arriving home, Jackson saw that Derek was already there, arms crossed, waiting for him. Derek looked good in his leather jacket, leaning against his black Camaro. Really good. Wait. Where the hell did that come from? Jackson thought to himself. He shook it out of his mind and quickly got out of the car, not wanting to try Derek's patience.

"So, you survived," Derek said, sounding bored. "Come on, let's go." He gestured towards the passenger side and got in the car.

Jackson swallowed anxiously and climbed in after him.

"Where are we going?" He asked quietly as Derek pulled away from the curb.

"To somewhere where no one can hear you scream," Derek said with a dark smile. Then hearing Jackson's heart beat pick up erratically, he added, "We're going to my house."

The drive to the woods was silent. When they arrived at the old Hale house, Jackson could sense they were alone.

"Why are we here?" He asked tentatively.

"We're here because I figured that it would be bad for you to practice turning into a werewolf at your house and accidentally tear it apart," Derek replied dryly. "Your parents might notice something."

"Wait, I thought the whole idea was to practice _not_ turning into a werewolf." Jackson grew even more anxious.

"You have to be able to control turning in order to control not turning," Derek said, as if it made perfect sense.

"But – but I don't – I don't want to turn," Jackson stammered.

"Too bad, learning to turn at will is the first step to controlling your wolf." Derek gave him a hard look. "The only reason you haven't accidentally turned already is because you've been feeling sorry for yourself in the dark all this time. Scott refused my help at first, thinking he could control himself and not turn and he almost killed somebody when he couldn't handle it."

Jackson remembered back to that night when Scott turned and scared the hell out of him and Allison when he had tried attacking them in Jackson's car. "Ok, what to I have to do?"

The question was barely out of Jackson's mouth when Derek leaped in front of him and hit him with a hard right hook across the jaw. Immediately, anger blossomed in Jackson and he felt his blood thicken and speed up.

"What the hell was that for you asshole?!" Jackson shouted, his mind screaming at him to attack Derek.

"Look at your hands, touch your face," Derek answered, eyes alert and watching Jackson carefully.

Lifting his hands up, Jackson saw that claws had appeared as if by magic. His eyes shot up to look at Derek anxiously. "What the hell? I didn't do this. I wasn't thinking of it." Then his raised his hands to his face and felt a lot of hair on his cheeks and chin. Was all that...fur?

"Yes, you did," Derek replied. "You got angry and you started to turn. You didn't need to think, it's instinct. You get angry or feel some sort of intense agitation and you turn. This is how it is for almost all new werewolves. Congrats, you're normal for once...sort of. Now you just need figure out how to not turn every time you get pissed off. Because that would be really bad."

Nodding, Jackson realized what an immense challenge that would be considering how little it took for him to turn. He looked at his hands while Derek spoke and as he calmed down, the claws receded.

"You'll have to learn how to keep your emotions have to be in check. No matter what happens, you need to stay calm. Keep your heart rate down," Derek instructed as he circled Jackson. Then without warning, Derek's fist lashed out and struck Jackson's face again.

"What the hell?!" Jackson roared as he jumped at Derek, claws out and tried to carve out a piece of him.

Derek easily avoided Jackson's claws and knocked him down and pinned him to the ground. "You need to stay calm remember? No matter what happens." He stared Jackson down until the latter nodded and forced himself to calm down again. After staying that way for a few more moments, Derek gave Jackson an odd look and jumped up, releasing him as if it burned Derek to touch him. "And remember to breath. Take deep breaths, it'll help keep your heart rate down."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Jackson asked sarcastically.

"You know what? I really am," Derek replied with a smile.

Then, for the next couple hours, Derek continuously struck Jackson again and again, testing his will to stay calm. And again and again, Jackson's claws would emerge. After the first few times, he began to actually be able to sense when he was turning. And the only reason that Jackson's face wasn't black and blue and nothing was broken was thanks to his newfound supercharged healing ability. At least one good thing had come from turning into a werewolf.

Gradually however, Jackson discovered that breathing helped a lot. That and thinking of all the people he had killed as the Kanima and how desperate he was not to add anyone else to that list.

Another punch and it sent Jackson flying and he landed on his back hard. Jackson sat up, focused on continuing to take long deep breaths.

Crouching next to Jackson, Derek said, "Look at your hands."

When Jackson looked, he saw normal fingers. He touched his face and it was smooth. He didn't turn. He sighed with relief and couldn't help when a smile spread across his face.

As Derek looked at Jackson, with his amazing smile and framed by the rosy hues from the setting sun, he couldn't help the sudden flutter in his stomach from the sight. Beautiful. Wait...what? No! Derek jumped up and shook such thoughts and feelings from himself. "It's getting late and I have other things I need to do," Derek said gruffly. "Come on, I'll take you home."

The ride back was silent. Jackson kept looking at Derek out of the corner of his eye and if Derek noticed, he didn't say anything. Jackson would have paid good money to know what Derek was thinking about. To know what Derek thought of his progress that day. Jackson found that he actually felt pretty comfortable sitting next to Derek. More than comfortable. It felt...good. It was amazing how quickly things changed.

When they arrived back and Jackson's, he almost didn't want to get out, but he knew he had to. "Ummm...so thanks, for today. You think I'll be ok tomorrow?"

"We're not done yet," Derek replied. "Today was easy. Tomorrow will be the really hard part. I'll meet you again after school."

Jackson nodded and started walking to the door.

"Hey!" Derek called out. "You did pretty good today," he conceded. "And yeah, I think you'll be ok."

Another smile spread across Jackson's face as he heard the words and he almost couldn't wait until tomorrow.

* * *

Derek was waiting outside his house again when Jackson got back from school the next day.

"Hey!" Jackson greeted him with a small smile.

Face set with a grim look, Derek asked, "Why the hell are you smiling? Tonight's the full moon. If you can't get control over yourself, you could seriously hurt someone."

And with that, Jackson's face fell. "I – sorry, I didn't mean to –..."

"Come on, let's go." Derek got into his car and Jackson followed.

This time, Derek drove them to the abandoned warehouse that he had been staying at a few weeks earlier. He led Jackson inside and down the stairs to the old train car that was stored there.

Jackson saw the various chains hanging from the metal rails and it hit home. Tonight was the full moon. And he could lose control and have to be chained up. Looking at Derek, he nervously asked, "Is it just us here? What about Scott and Isaac?"

"They're both capable of controlling themselves so I don't need to babysit them," Derek replied. "And they'll both be out with Peter looking for Erica and Boyd tonight, just in case they're still in the area. They had trouble controlling themselves during the last full moon and it would be bad if they had a repeat while they're out there."

Not knowing what to say, Jackson just stood there and nodded. He realized how lucky he was that Derek was willing to look out – erm...babysit – him.

"Come here," Derek gestured to the spot in front of him. "Sit down."

"We're not going to practice?" Jackson asked worriedly.

"As much as I'd like to keep hitting you, that will only take you so far," Derek said with a smirk. "Right now I want you to concentrate and turn by yourself, without any provocation from me and then I want you to turn back to normal."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Jackson looked at him, confused.

"Concentrate. Will your wolf to come out." Derek closed his eyes, took a breath and when he opened his eyes, they glowed alpha red. Then he closed them again and next they opened to reveal his brilliant brown eyes again.

Taking a deep breath, Jackson swallowed and squeezed his eyes shut. Appear, appear, appear...

"You look like you're constipated," Derek observed dryly. "Just let it out. It's really not that hard. Your wolf wants to come out."

Face red from Derek's comment, Jackson took another deep breath and closed his eyes. "Come out, come out," he whispered in his mind to his wolf. And suddenly an intense heat flooded his veins and he knew it heard him. His eyes opened, and Jackson saw the claws and felt the hair on his face. Then he took long deep breaths until the wolf disappeared back inside.

Jackson sighed from relief at his success and smiled again. And again Derek found himself staring. He hoped to God that this wasn't going to start becoming a bad habit.

"Ok, that's good," Derek said. "Now do it again."

After another several successful turns, Derek told Jackson to take a seat on one of the train seats. He then commenced placing chains around Jackson's wrists and torso and binding them to the rails. Jackson watched the entire process in silence, not knowing what to say.

Derek then said, "It'll be sundown soon. Time to meditate."

"I didn't know you meditated," Jackson said, surprised.

"I don't," Derek responded flatly. "But I'm told that it helps to be as calm as possible when the moon rises. Kind of wish I had told the others that last month. Just clear your mind and breathe deeply. Think of...clouds and green fields or something." Derek really had no idea what constituted as meditation and just went by what he remembered from a tv show. But it had to be better than nothing, right? He settled down in another seat as Jackson complied.

When the moon had climbed close to the highest point, Jackson felt a burning sensation lance thru him. It was almost unbearable. He screamed and tried to jump up only to be held down by the chains.

"Jackson! Concentrate! Keep your emotions in check. Control the wolf!" Jackson could hear Derek's voice dimly calling to him.

As his claws appeared on their own, Jackson screamed again, the burning becoming even stronger. He tried to pull on the chains and felt strong hands clamp down on his shoulders and hold him fast. He looked up to see Derek's eyes glowing red as if the alpha were trying to intimidate his wolf into submission.

But as Derek should have known, Jackson never joined his pack. That meant Jackson was an omega and while an alpha could certainly beat an omega in a fight, he didn't have the power to make it submit, not like he could with his actual pack members. Jackson jumped up and out of Derek's grip, breaking the chains with a sudden burst of unbelievable strength and took off running.

* * *

Uh oh…hope Derek can catch him…in more ways than one…lol ;)

Reviews would be greatly appreciated. =)


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews everyone!

Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Wolf or anyone in it. If I did, I'd be busy having way too much fun doing _other stuff_. ^_~

* * *

**Redemption**

**Chapter 4**

Derek stared at the broken chains in shock for a moment as he couldn't believe how strong Jackson was. Then he took off running after him.

"Jackson! Stop!" Derek shouted out to Jackson, knowing it was futile. "Shit, shit, shit!" With Scott and the others looking for his missing pack members, Derek knew he was on his own to corral Jackson.

Letting his own wolf out, Derek easily picked up Jackson's scent. Being faster, he was able to catch up quickly and tackled Jackson to the ground. "Stop it!" Derek growled as he tried to force Jackson to look at him in the eyes.

Jackson thrashed wildly as Derek attempted to hold him down. He couldn't see anything. Everything was covered in a haze. He had to do something. Jackson couldn't think of what, but there was something he had to do. But the burning in him was overpowering. It was too much! Slowly, thru the haze Jackson caught a glimpse of...Derek? Then he heard Derek's voice. Murky at first, then growing louder.

"Remember what we talked about!"

A shudder ran through Jackson as a face flashed before his eyes, then another, and yet another. Faces of people the Kanima killed, that he killed. Then Jackson remembered. He couldn't let it happen again. After a few more moments, Jackson stilled.

Sitting up and breathing hard, Derek let him go. It had taken more than he anticipated to keep a hold on Jackson. "Are you ok now?"

Nodding, Jackson sat up as well. Though his wolf was still out, he had calmed and regained his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm ok," he assured Derek. Looking around, Jackson saw that they were still in the industrial part of town, away from everyone. "Thanks for not letting me get too far."

"As if I had a choice," Derek responded. "Come on, let's get back before someone sees us." He led Jackson back to the warehouse.

* * *

Jackson woke up the next morning curled up in a seat, back where he remembered being chained up the night before. Startled, he sat up and looked around anxiously. Derek was nowhere in sight. Did he leave while Jackson was asleep? What happened last night? Jackson noticed chains on the floor, but he wasn't bound in them. Did he get loose? But there wasn't blood on him either, so that was definitely a good sign, right? Before he could build himself into a panic, Jackson heard a door opening and looking up, he saw Derek come in.

"You're finally up," Derek said. "I was just coming to wake you. How do you feel?"

"I think I'm ok. What happened to the chains? Wasn't I supposed to be in them? Did you unchain me?" Jackson asked.

"You don't remember?" Derek gave him a look. "You freed yourself, quite forcefully, I might add. I had to chase you down. But you were able to calm down and rein in your wolf. We came back here and you fell asleep after a while and then turned back to normal."

Suddenly the events of the previous night came rushing into Jackson's mind and he remembered everything. Thank God Derek was able to catch him.

Derek threw something at Jackson. As he caught it, Jackson saw that it was his backpack. Where did Derek get it?

"I figured your parents might have some questions about where you were last night, unless you were smart enough to tell them something ahead of time," Derek said.

Jackson shook his head. The thought to make an excuse to his parents never even crossed his mind. Granted, he did have bigger issues occupying his mind last night.

"Yeah," Derek nodded. "That's what I thought. I snuck in your room and got your backpack and some clothes. You should go shower at school."

Shocked at Derek's thoughtfulness, Jackson only managed, "Umm...Thanks," in reply. He couldn't believe that Derek had considered his feelings enough to go to his house and get his things for him. Jackson opened his backpack and saw that Derek even brought him a matching set of clothes, as if he actually gave some thought over what to bring Jackson to wear.

"Come on, I'll drive you to school," Derek said gruffly, feeling slightly uncomfortable all of a sudden.

The ride to school was silent and when they arrived, Jackson felt hesitant to get out. "Hey, uh, thanks for your help, everything you did," he said as he climbed out.

"Yeah, well," Derek cleared his throat, "It's not like I had a choice in the matter what with Scott hounding me to death and all." Derek gave Jackson an awkward look and drove off.

Jackson stood there and watched Derek drive away. He was hopeful that all this meant a new beginning for him and Derek, for him and everyone really. Jackson couldn't remember the last time he felt this grateful to someone as he felt towards Derek. And it really wasn't just Derek he should be grateful to. It was time for a change. As Jackson walked into the school, he was determined to change for the better. Somehow, he had to redeem himself.

* * *

"Hey, McCall… Scott," Jackson called as he walked up to Scott standing by his locker.

"Jackson!" Scott smiled in surprise when he saw who it was that called him. "So I guess everything went ok last night?"

"Yeah, it went ok," Jackson nodded then swallowed nervously. "Um…listen, I know we don't exactly get along and it's probably mostly my fault, but uh, I just wanna say, you know, thanks. For, you know, helping me during that…uhh…_situation_ and then convincing Derek to help me for the full moon. And I'm sorry for being um, a jerk." Jackson looked away awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck as he said the last part.

Scott just looked at Jackson as if he'd sprouted horns. He stared, mouth agape, for several moments, stunned by what Jackson said. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to get thanks from Jackson let alone an actual apology. Jackson was damned lucky that Scott wasn't the type of guy to crow over something like this.

Looking back at Scott, Jackson furrowed his brows. "Ummm…are you gonna say something?"

"Oh sorry! Yeah, no problem! Happy to help, you know. Just wanted you to be ok. That's just what I wanted," Scott said, jolted from his daze. Then he realized his words, 'Happy to help? That's just what I wanted? WTF?' He thought to himself. Lame!

"Ok, uh, so I'll see you in class." Jackson gave Scott and awkward grin, turned and walked down the hall.

"Hey! Was that Jackson? Did he kill anybody?" Stiles asked as he ran up to Scott.

"Uh huh, yeah." Scott nodded absently, still dazed by Jackson's words.

"He did?! Omygod! I thought Derek was supposed to help him?" Stiles practically shouted.

"Wait, what?" Scott looked at him confused. "Jackson didn't kill anyone."

Stiles hit Scott on the shoulder. "Then why are you all…you know zombiefied in shock, like something unimaginable happened?"

Scott turned to Stiles and said in a serious tone. "Jackson thanked me for helping him and then he apologized for being a jerk."

Mouth dropping open and eyes bulging, Stiles promptly collapsed to the floor.

* * *

Jackson tried to concentrate on his AP history assignment, but when he re-read the same page for the fourth time, he gave up. He couldn't remember a single word he had read. Thoughts of Derek occupied his entire mind. Up until these last few days, Jackson would have bet his life – well, maybe not _his _life – that Derek hated him and wanted him dead. But then that flicker of hope had ignited in him after Derek's visit the other day and has been slowly growing ever since.

"_I don't want you to die!_" Derek's words replayed over and over in Jackson's mind. That had to mean that on some level, Derek cared about his well-being, about _him_, didn't it? And then there was the morning after, the full moon that is. Derek was so considerate towards him. Worried about how his parents might react, bringing him clothes and his backpack. That all meant something, right? They could have a peaceful co-existence, be friendly-ish. Maybe even something more?

Then Jackson thought back to a conversation, or was it a confrontation, from earlier that day when Danny cornered him in the locker room after practice.

_Flashback_

"Are you going out with Derek Hale?" Danny asked without warning.

Water droplets flew from his mouth as Jackson chocked on the sip of water he had just taken. "What the fuck?!" Jackson's brows shot up and he quickly looked around to make sure no one else was there. "What the hell are you talking about? No, I'm not going out with him! Where the hell did you get a crazy ass idea like that?"

He tried to leave, but Danny stood fast in his way and revealed, "I saw you get out of his car this morning…in yesterday's clothes." Danny gave Jackson a pointed look.

"What the hell? Are you following me?" Jackson accused.

"No, I was here early to help set up some audio stuff for the drama club. I see you're not denying it," Danny replied.

"I am _not_ going out with Derek," Jackson insisted. "My…car broke down on the way to school and he saw me and…" He trailed off, realizing how pathetic that sounded.

"So he saw you and offered to give you a ride?" Danny finished for him. "Last I heard, you hated that guy. But that was all an act, wasn't it?"

"No! I did hate him. Just – things happened and it's kind of different now," Jackson said hesitantly.

"Uh huh. Look, I don't care if you are dating him. I thought he was hot, but that was it. You guys actually look good together," Danny said supportively.

"What?" Jackson looked at him incredulously. "Where do you even get off thinking that? How do you even know Derek's gay? I mean, look at him. He's as – as tough a guy as they come and hello! Did you forget Lydia? I dated her for almost two years. And when we broke up, I went out with Allison. I could have any girl I want."

"I know these things Jackson." Danny gave him a knowing look. "Derek would be very receptive to the idea of you being into him. And you dated Lydia cuz you were both at the top of the popularity list. And the only reason you went out with Allison was to get at Scott cuz you were mad coach made him co-captain. And don't deny it."

"Hey, I liked Lydia ok, I thought she was hot," Jackson defended. "And I'm pretty sure I heard that I read in the papers that Derek dated Kate Argent or something."

"Right, the crazy cow who burned his house to the ground with his family in it?" Danny said patronizingly with a look. "That's what I call a psycho bitch taking advantage of a much younger guy who was probably trying to hide his real feelings. And you can think girls are hot. I do. Maybe you're bi or whatever. Just stop pretending with me ok? I saw you sneak off with Kevin Sanders from West Lake High after we beat them back in freshman year."

Shocked, Jackson opened his mouth, closed it and then nodded. "Well, considering how we destroyed them during the division championships, I figured it was the least I could do to console someone from the losing team," he said with his usual confidence. "I can't believe you kept quiet about it for so long."

Danny shrugged, "As long as you didn't get hurt, it was none of my business and you're my best friend."

"Thanks…you too," Jackson said awkwardly. "But just because I was sort of into Sanders, doesn't mean I'm into Derek Hale," he tried to deny.

With another look, Danny replied, "Yeah, right. I saw the way you looked at him as he was driving away."

_End flashback_

Maybe Danny was right, Jackson thought to himself. It definitely wouldn't be much of a stretch for a guy to fall for Jackson. 'I mean, look at me,' Jackson thought with a smile. He might have decided to try to be a better person, but in some aspects, Jackson will always be Jackson.

And Derek was smoking hot. They would definitely look amazing together. Except, Derek wasn't just a random guy. He was Derek. It wasn't as if Jackson could just go up to him, flash him a smile and say, "Hey."

So that was why Jackson found himself squeezing his steering wheel for dear life as he drove up the path that led to Derek's house. He had almost turned back twice on the way over, he was so nervous. When he got to the house, he just sat there for a while, still unsure of whether or not to get out of the car. The choice was taken from him a minute later when he saw Derek come out the front door, arms crossed, as he stared right at Jackson.

"H – Hey…umm…how's it going?" Jackson said nervously as he got out.

"What are you doing here?" Derek asked in reply.

"Umm…I just wanted to you know, thank you again for what you did. And um…I wanted to also say sorry, if I made your life any harder and for being…an ass." Jackson gave him a small smile.

"Ok," Derek looked at him with disinterest. "Now that you've said what you came to say, you can leave."

"Wait…it's just that, since you helped me, I thought that maybe we were cool now?" Jackson asked hopefully.

"You think we're cool?" Derek shrugged. "I don't hate you, but I don't like you either. And I definitely don't give a damn about you." _Lie_.

Jackson's face fell. "But – but you said…"

"I said what I had to, to get you to stop feeling sorry for yourself," Derek said impatiently. "I said I didn't want you to die, but I also said it was because I didn't want your death on my conscience. And seriously, how many times do I have to tell you that I only helped you because I turned you and so I feel some sense of responsibility. So really, I helped you to in order to help all the innocent people who you could have killed. So get it through your thick skull. Unless I absolutely have to, I don't ever want to be near you." _Lies…all lies_.

Derek stood on the front porch as he watched a very pale Jackson flee to his car and drive away as if a beast was chasing him. And that beast's name was Derek.

Walking back into the house, Derek ran his hands over his face. Then in a fit of rage, he punched his fist through a wall. "Arrrggh! Damnit!"

"Ouch, that was harsh," came Peter's voice from the stairway landing as he made his presence known. "I get that you don't like the kid, but was that really necessary? And to take it out on a poor defenseless wall? We don't have many of those left you know."

Glaring at him, Derek retorted, "I have way too much to worry about to babysit some stupid jock, ok? Two of my pack members disappeared without a trace and we still have no idea when the alpha pack will show up and what they could possibly want. I don't have time for anything else. I gotta get out of here." Derek grabbed his keys, got in his car and drove off.

As he drove aimlessly around town, Derek had to admit to himself that everything he'd shouted at Jackson were lies. He'd known they were even as the words came out of his mouth. But like he told Peter, he had far too much to worry about. Who knew what the alpha pack could want with him. If Jackson was around him, he could get hurt. And it astonished Derek that it made him so upset to think that Jackson could get hurt because of him.

He suddenly stopped the car. What the hell was he thinking? Jackson was already hurt because of him. Because of what he said. Derek remembered seeing Jackson's face as he took off. Part of him wanted to go find Jackson and tell him everything. Derek wasn't sure when the hell that happened, but these last couple days with Jackson hadn't been as unpleasant as he thought it would be. Derek knew he should stick to his guns. Let Jackson think he hated him. He might be upset, but at least he'd be physically ok.

Then a thought struck him and Derek mentally kicked himself for not thinking of it earlier. If Jackson was in his pack, they would all be stronger. _He_ would be stronger. He and Peter were wolf-born purebreds. They were stronger than normal wolves. Peter might even be able to take on a turned alpha. They might be able to fend off the alpha pack together. Derek had already decided to tell Scott and Isaac about them and he might as well include Jackson, too. And while he was at it, maybe he should even warn the Argents. No, let Scott tell the Argents. But first thing tomorrow, Derek would tell his pack and Jackson about the alphas.

Derek turned the car around and headed back home. As soon as he got back, he could sense that he wasn't alone. And he knew it wasn't just Peter either. The air was thick with scents of other werewolves. Other _alphas_.

Taking cautious steps toward the house, Derek's eyes darted to the side of the house as he spotted movement from that direction. He watched warily as a tall blonde guy around his age strode up to him with a smirky smile on his face.

"Hey there, my friends and I are new in the area and we figured we'd come by and introduce ourselves."

* * *

Slowly, but surely the fic is progressing… Thanks for sticking with it!

Reviews would be greatly appreciated. =)


	5. Chapter 5

REVISED chapter 5: So I just noticed that I posted the wrong version earlier. Here's the final one...not that it has a big diff. Just a few lines added to the first scene, but in the scheme of things it matters to me lol.

Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Wolf or anyone in it. If I did, I'd be busy having way too much fun doing _other stuff_. ^_~

* * *

**Redemption**

**Chapter 5**

"Who the hell are you?" Derek growled and squared his jaw, straightened his back and put on his 'don't mess with me' glare, trying to look as intimidating as possible.

"Is that how you Beacon Hills-billies welcome visitors to your quaint little town? Tsk," the stranger responded with a wily grin.

Derek was silent as he continued to glare at the trespasser with the perfectly mussed hair.

The golden haired alpha shrugged casually and reached out a hand to Derek. "I'm Cain. And I think you got my calling card." He canted his head towards the mark on the house. When Derek made no move to take his hand Cain continued, "No? Oh well. We had meant to introduce ourselves later, but I figured we should stop by sooner when we realized you had someone poking around looking for us. Not to mention we found your lost little wolf puppies and figured you might be missing them."

Derek's blood ran cold when he heard Cain's reveal what he had been secretly fearing all along. Erica and Boyd ran into the alpha pack… no wonder no one had heard from them or was able to find even a trace of them. But as floored as he was, Derek remained unmoving. The only indication that the words had any effect on him was the slight widening of his eyes.

"What the hell did you do to them?" Derek asked coldly as he clenched his fists so tight that blood dripped from them, though he didn't even realize it.

"Why don't we go into the house and chat?" Cain gestured toward the house, his air of confidence not ruffled by Derek in the least.

That was when Derek noticed the smell of blood in the air and realized he could hear soft sounds of struggles coming from the house. He rushed past Cain and into the house and was treated to the sight of Peter being held down by two other male werewolves, the red glint of alpha status apparent in their eyes. Peter's face was heavily bruised and he had a gash on his chest that seemed to be healing and then Derek saw Boyd lying in a bloody heap on the ground with another male alpha's booted foot on his back.

Frantically, Derek looked around for Erica but doesn't see her anywhere. But he could smell her and when he followed her scent, it pointed him to the two female alphas lounging on the couch. He narrowed his eyes as he slowly approached them.

"Where is she?" Derek asked in a low voice that should have frozen any living being in fear.

Unfortunately for him, these two weren't just any living beings, they were alphas…in an alpha pack. They simply looked at him unfazed as they knew they had the upper hand. "She was really troublesome… And you know us girls. We're a lot less tolerant of those we don't care for than guys are. And we honestly didn't realize she was that weak. Must have been the runt of your litter. Sorry…but we broke the bitch," the blonde female alpha said mockingly as the brunette beside her pretended to smother an amused laugh.

With a viciously angry snarl, Derek let his wolf out and lunged at them, but Cain and one of the alphas holding Peter down leapt over and grabbed him, pulling him away from the female alphas. Derek tried to fight them off, but the two alphas are able to subdue him. And Derek noticed that Cain was uncommonly strong. A lot stronger than the other alpha and Derek could tell Cain was even stronger than him.

Finally Derek stopped struggling, it was no use. There were six of them and only one of him. And Erica was dead. The thought hit Derek like a ton of bricks. She was dead and it was his fault. It was his fault because he was the one who turned her. He turned her and he didn't prepare her for what was out there. His wolf receded and Derek hung from their grasps and when they sensed he had stopped fighting, released him.

"Ok, now that we've all calmed down, I just want to officially apologize for what happened," Cain said patronizingly. "We didn't mean to do any real harm. It was unfortunate, for them, that they happened to be in the woods when we arrived. But in our defense, we took them both alive. But she somehow managed to escape. I think your boy had something to do with that. But it really was too bad, for her, because well, we couldn't just let her get away. And it had been awhile since we hunted and the smell of fear in the air…well let's just say it was overwhelming and regrettably, it got the better of us."

Knowing Cain didn't mean a single word, Derek continued to glare at him. "Yeah right, I'm sure you were completely broken up about killing an innocent girl."

Cain shrugged and gave Derek another fake apologetic smile, "Like I said, she ran and we had to hunt her down, I mean find her, and the fear she exuded and well…she should have just stayed put."

He might as well have said it was their fault the alpha pack attacked them and killed Erica. Derek knew that was what he really meant.

Sensing Derek getting riled up again, Cain said quickly, "Ok, ok. I completely understand why you're upset. Believe me, we had no intentions of starting our relationship with you this way. We really had hoped to meet under better circumstances. We just want to be friends with you."

"Friends?" Derek asked incredulously. "Friends? You want to be friends, so this is how you introduce yourselves? Huh? Friend?" It was clear that Cain was not completely right in the head to think Derek would ever be 'friends' with them, especially now.

"Oh, yeah. And in the midst of all this unpleasantness, I forgot to introduce you to everyone." Cain gestured to the other alphas. "First, we've got Ashe and Blake," he swept an arm towards the alphas next to Peter, one with light brown hair and the other with dark brown hair. "Next is Wes," Cain clapped the raven haired alpha who was keeping Boyd down on the back. "And last, but not least, Athena and Avery," Cain finished as the blonde and brunette waved respectively. "And no need for you to introduce yourself. We already know who you are, Derek."

"What do you want?" Derek ground out.

"Like I said, we just want to be your friends." Cain smiled at him again.

"You honestly think I'd want to be 'friends' with you after what you did?" Derek shouted. "You killed Erica –"

"Oh was that her name?" Cain interrupted. "That's a nice name."

"You beat up two of my other pack members," Derek continued.

"But they'll heal, look," Cain pointed to Peter, the gash on his chest now just a faint pink line. "Practically good as new already. And we weren't even planning on hurting him to begin with. It's just that he objected to us showing up with that one in tow in the shape he was." He gestured carelessly towards Boyd as he sat down on the couch.

"And you wonder why I would want you as friends," Derek replied, adding a mirthless smile of his own.

"You should want to be friends with us. Think about it, it really would be to your advantage. If you were with us, you would be stronger. We'd all be stronger." Cain propped an elbow up on the arm of the couch and set his chin on his hand.

"Stronger?" Derek looked at him confused. "The only way werewolves would make each other stronger is to –" He cut himself off, realizing now what they wanted from him.

"That's right," Cain said with a wink. "We didn't just want to make friends, we came to town to look for you because we had a proposition for you. We would like very much if you would join us."

At a complete loss for words, Derek just stood there for a moment before he found his voice again. "I thought you were an alpha pack. Alpha's only. I have four – _three _ – betas in my pack."

"Yes, we are an alpha pack," Cain looked at Derek pointedly.

"You'd have to cut them loose," Athena said. "And we already took care of one for you."

Anger spiking again, Derek took a menacing step forward and Cain jumped up to halt him. "What she meant was, sorry about your girl, but we just want you to realize that what you have right now means nothing. This," Cain gestured to all the alphas again, "could be your future. All you have to do is say yes and release your pack."

"Why me? You could go anywhere, pick anyone. So why me?" Derek asked.

"You make it sound as if alphas are a dime a dozen," Cain laughed. Then his look turned serious, "And I picked you because I feel like we're kindred spirits. We're the same, you and I."

"We're nothing alike," Derek snarled. "After what you did, how could you even think I would want anything to do with you? I would never –"

"Never say never," Cain interrupted. Then he sighed gave him a sympathetic look. "Well, it's been a pretty trying night for you, so we'll just let you mull things over and catch up with you later… Think about it. And you'll see, we are the same."

With that, Cain led the alpha pack out of his house. Wes, the last one to go, gave Derek a weird look and some parting words, "It really would be for your own good."

After they had gone, Derek and a completely healed Peter rush to Boyd's side.

"Are you alright?" Derek asked urgently. Something was wrong. Boyd should have healed, but there was so much blood he couldn't tell.

"My side, fell on something when we were running from them," Boyd gasped in pain as he tried to reach for whatever it was.

Gently, Derek rolled Boyd over and saw a thick tree branch protruding from his left flank. "Did you have this in you this whole time?" He reached for it and gingerly tugged on it a little, causing Boyd to cry out in pain.

"Damn it!" Derek looked at Peter. "Hold him still, it's gonna hurt." Once he saw that Peter had a firm hold of Boyd, Derek pulled the branch out as fast as he could.

Boyd shouted again but Derek could see the wound slowly begin to close. "S-Sorry," Boyd stammered. "Sorry, we left. Shoulda never left – shoulda never – the window was too small for me… I convinced her to escape – to get help. My fault she's dead," Boyd's voice cracked with a sob.

"It's not your fault," Derek cut him off. "If I had been a better leader. Given you guys reasons to have more confidence in me. I failed you." But no more, Derek thought. Then he turned to Peter. "They won't be coming back tonight. Can you help Boyd get cleaned up? I need to find Isaac and Scott and make sure they're ok." And Jackson, Derek had to find Jackson. As a pack-less omega, he would be in the most danger if he should cross paths with them.

* * *

'I'm so stupid!' Jackson thought to himself.

He was lying on his bed again, completely depressed again. Jackson scoffed at himself. What the hell was he thinking? Why would he think that Derek would think of him any differently? That things between the two of them would change. From day one, Jackson had acted like an asshole around Derek. He never did anything to prove otherwise. Scott might argue that Jackson helped them defeat alpha Peter, but everyone had to know it was because Jackson wanted the bite. A guy like Jackson never did anything without an angle, without wanting something in return. At least, that was what the pre-Kanima Jackson was like.

Unfortunately for post-Kanima Jackson, a guy like Derek didn't give out many chances. And even though he was determined to change for the better, it looked like he blew his last chance when he refused to acknowledge that Derek was his alpha and mocked him instead.

Though that day seemed like it happened eons ago, Derek must have a good memory. Add to that the fact that the Kanima tried to kill him and of course Derek would write him off. As Derek said, the only reason he had been willing to help Jackson was because he bit him and didn't want innocent people to suffer from it.

But even as Jackson flinched from memories of Derek's words earlier that night, he couldn't help but think how attractive Derek had looked while he was berating him. Like some beautiful angel of death and vengeance or something. Jackson covered his face with his hands and shook his head. God, how sad and pathetic was he? And even as he knew Derek wanted nothing to do with him, a small part of him still couldn't help hoping, wishing, that maybe in time…

"No!" Jackson sat up quickly. He knew he couldn't just stay in bed for another week. The tension he felt from his parents were just finally easing up when they found out he'd started going back to school and he couldn't regress from that. Jackson got off his bed and put on some running clothes. Hopefully a nice long run would help to clear his mind. Probably not, but one could only hope.

* * *

"I told you so Cain," Wes said angrily as he crossed his arms. "I told you not to let the girls go too crazy. If I were Derek Hale, I would never trust anything any of us says."

The alphas were lounging on the hoods of some cars in the parking lot of the local shopping center, snacking on some food they filched from a nearby convenience store.

"Lighten up, Wes," Cain rolled his eyes. "You're acting like someone died or something…oh wait...I guess someone did. It's not a big deal."

The girls laughed. "Come on Wes, you haven't eaten anything," Avery tried to cajole him.

"How can you think this is not a big deal?" Wes walked to stand over Cain. "We needed him to join the pack! As it stands – "

"As it stands, _I'm_ the pack leader," Cain asserted as he rose to meet Wes at eye level. "We may all be alphas, but I'm still number one and you're still number two. Got it?"

"Why do I have the feeling that maybe you don't want Hale to join the pack?" Wes narrowed his eyes.

Sensing the nervous tension start to rise from the other alphas, Cain flashed Wes a lazy smile. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course I want him to join. And besides, what happened was only the beginning of the inevitable…" Cain trailed off as a scent caught him. He turned his head to one side and breathed in deep. The scent was new, and yet somehow familiar. Whoever it was smelled amazing.

Turning back to Wes, Cain said, "Don't worry so much, you'll get wrinkles. We might heal fast, but we still do continue to age after all. I'll catch you guys later." He then turned on his wolf speed and took off into the night.

As Cain rounded a corner, he caught sight of his objective. The hooded figure was running as if demons were chasing him. An omega… And he smelled so good. Cain smirked and casually started walking towards the omega, who must have been completely lost deep within his own thoughts, because he didn't notice Cain until he practically ran into him.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't see you," the omega gasped as he halted but still collided with Cain. His abrupt movements caused the hood to fall back, revealing the most stunning guy Cain had ever set eyes on and it was lust at first sight, or rather at first sniff to be more accurate.

"No worries, it's dark. I get that you might have had trouble spotting me," Cain smiled.

"Are you ok?" The omega asked and Cain watched as his brilliant azure eyes glanced over him as if to make sure he hadn't caused Cain any pain. Aww, how very sweet. The omega had absolutely no clue who what standing before him.

"No, no, I'm fine," Cain assured him with a dazzling smile, which grew even wider when he saw the omega's face flush. "But actually, I do need a bit of help. You see, I'm new in town and I'm afraid I got myself turned around somehow. I'm staying at the Beacon Hills something Inn. It's close to the woods. Would you by any chance know where it is?"

"Umm, yeah," the omega nodded. "You should head back that way and –"

"Actually, I'm really bad with directions," Cain interrupted and faked an embarrassed look. "That's part of the reason I'm here instead of back in my room. I'd hate to trouble you, but do you think you could show me the way? I'm Cain, by the way." He smiled again and held out his hand. "And you are…?"

The omega took Cain's offered hand and answered, "Nice to meet you. My name is Jackson."

* * *

Yup, I did it…I killed off Erica. I never really liked her and when I found out recently that she wasn't going to be in Season 3, I was like…meh, no biggie. Although someone did tell me she wasn't dead…but it's my story and I'll kill off whoever I want to. =P Sorry tho…if any of you did like her… =/

Thanks for reading! Reviews would be greatly appreciated. =)


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the reviews everyone!

Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Wolf or anyone in it. If I did, I'd be busy having way too much fun doing _other stuff_. ^_~

* * *

**Redemption**

**Chapter 6**

Jackson felt the intense heat as soon as he took Cain's hand. He didn't know how, but just that one touch made him feel warm all over…and not in a bad way. He tried to pull away after a few seconds, but Cain kept hold, prolonging the handshake even though there wasn't actually any shaking of the hands.

"You've got quite a firm grip," Jackson laughed nervously, flexing and curling his fingers, when Cain finally released his hand. Cain had a very casual look about him, and if Jackson didn't know any better, he might have thought Cain was some random college frat guy. He certainly looked the part, but there was something about him that Jackson couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Well, you know how it is. It's all about first impressions," Cain said with a smile that wasn't quite a smirk but Jackson couldn't figure out what it was.

One thing was certain though, Cain oozed confidence and it was clear he was absolutely sure of himself. Maybe even more so than Derek.

Derek…just the mere thought of him reminded Jackson of why he was out there to begin with. His thoughts of Derek had to be borderline obsessive now. In fact, he had been so consumed by them that he didn't even notice Cain, until he seemingly materialized in front of him out of thin air and almost plowed him down.

"Hey, sorry again for running into you like that," Jackson apologized with a small smile.

"No worries, man. Like I said, if you just show me back to my hotel, we'll call it even. Totally copacetic," Cain responded.

Figuring that it was the least he could do, Jackson nodded. "Sure, it's this way."

As they fell into pace, Jackson could feel heat radiating from Cain. There it was again, that something about him that seemed really out of place. It was kind of similar to Derek – Seriously, Derek again? Jackson shook his head. Everything these days reminded him of Derek. With the way his mind was going, next thing he knew, he would look at Stiles and see Derek. Jackson shuddered at the thought.

"Is something wrong?" Cain asked, having sensed his emotional upheaval.

"Nothing, I'm fine, just school stuff," Jackson deflected. Then he changed the subject, "Umm…so what are you doing here?"

Cain turned to look at Jackson and gave him a thoughtful look, his blue eyes hiding everything that he was thinking.

Not knowing what the look meant and not wanting to offend this stranger, Jackson added awkwardly, "Not that you don't have a right to be, but this is a small town and people don't generally come here without having to. I wouldn't be here if my parents didn't have a say. You know?"

"I know what you mean," Cain replied smoothly. "I'm here with a few friends to visit someone. We're not planning on staying long, like you said, small town. But now I'm starting to wonder if maybe this town has some hidden gems we didn't know about before." He gave Jackson a calculated look that made heat curl in his stomach.

"Uhh…" Jackson swallowed visibly and for once, other than the times when Derek confronted him, he had no idea of what to say. What was it with this guy that could affect him the way Derek did? Jackson didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. But maybe this was the guy who would get him over the alpha that had been vexing his mind. And the fact that he was very easy on the eyes didn't hurt one bit.

Clearly amused, Cain laughed and said, "Don't think too much about it." Then Cain arched a brow and looked off to the side and without warning, he put his hands on Jackson's shoulders, leaned in close and Jackson felt hot breath tingling on his neck and ear when Cain whispered, "You know what? I think I like you."

* * *

Derek drove around aimlessly looking for Jackson. After talking to Scott and Isaac, he had gone to Jackson's house only to find that he wasn't home. And when Derek tried calling, he was made more anxious when he heard Jackson's phone ringing in his empty room. As he drove around, he became almost desperate to find Jackson. What if the alpha pack had already gotten to Jackson? Why else would he not be at home and leave without his phone?

After turning onto one of the streets behind the school Derek saw two figures walking down the street. Jackson! And then his blood ran cold when he realized the person walking with him was none other than Cain. How the hell did that asshole get to Jackson so quickly? He shouldn't even know Jackson existed.

Turning the engine off, Derek shifted his car into neutral and coasted down the street a bit before pulling over and stopping. Derek focused his hearing to try and figure out what Cain was up to. Jackson and Cain were talking and while Jackson's heart rate was slightly elevated, he didn't seem to be in distress. At least he seemed to be ok, for now.

When Cain turned to face Jackson, and inadvertently him, Derek sucked in a breath and hunched down in his seat as far as he could. He heard Cain spout some bullshit about visiting people and then Derek gripped the steering wheel tightly as Cain's eyes suddenly locked onto his. Shit! And then, as if he was watching a horror scene in slow motion, Derek saw Cain set his paws on Jackson, his Jackson, and heard him whisper, "I like you," as he held Derek's gaze the entire time.

That made Derek's blood boil. He was gonna go over there and wipe the smirk off that mother-fu – No, he can't. Derek caught himself just as he opened the door. If he attacked Cain like that, he might as well point a neon sign at Jackson that said, "Super important to Derek Hale!" And that was the last thing that could happen.

Instead, Derek forced himself to calm down as he slowly got out of the car. When Jackson heard the car door slam shut he whirled around, eyes widening in surprise and Derek heard him inhale sharply and his heart rate pick up even more. Damnit, the next to last thing he wanted was to scare Jackson again. Wait, when the hell did that happen? Not want to scare Jackson? Derek loved scaring Jackson…at least he did… 'I am so screwed,' Derek thought to himself. He decided to just ignore Jackson and focus all his attention on Cain.

"Cain. What are you doing without your dogs?" Derek asked derisively.

"Just out for a late night stroll, meeting the town folk and making friends," Cain said nonchalantly.

"Wait, do you two know each other?" Jackson asked with a confused look. "What do you mean by dogs? ... Wait, do you mean...wolves?" He finished in a whisper. Then realization dawned and he turned to Cain, "Oh my God. Are you an alpha too? I knew I sensed something weird about you."

"There's nothing weird about it Jackson," Cain smiled at him. "My being an alpha is very natural, you being an omega...not so much."

Jackson inhaled sharply again at the revelation that Cain knew what he was. "How – how did you know?"

"I'm an alpha, of course I could tell." Cain let out a short laugh as if he knew a secret no one else knew. "Now the question is, how do you two know each other?"

"No, I have no idea who he is," Derek said before Jackson even finished digesting the question. He looked at Jackson and hoped he wouldn't refute what Derek said. Jackson stayed silent, but Derek could see the hurt in his eyes. He looked at Jackson and tried to will him to understand.

"Hmmm..." Cain tapped his chin with a finger, pretending to be deep in thought. "That's funny how you say that, considering you're the one who turned him." Cain flashed a predatory smile as he put an arm around Jackson's shoulder.

It took every ounce of self control for Derek not to rip Cain's arm off. He settled for shooting daggers at him with his eyes...for now. "You actually think I would waste my bite on that?" He jerked his head in Jackson's direction.

"I don't think it, I know it," Cain asserted. "When I first caught onto his scent I thought it was kind of familiar. And I realized it was you. You're a part of him now. So don't even try to deny it. I don't blame you. I mean, if I saw him first I probably would have done the same. Just look at him...beautiful." Cain ran his fingers idly thru Jackson's hair. "What I don't get though is why he isn't a beta and in your pack. Did you guys break up? Aww..." He gave Jackson a pitiful look and moved to hug him in mock concern.

"It – it wasn't like that," Jackson stammered, face flushed, and backed away just in time or Derek really would have tackled Cain.

"Oh, it wasn't?" Cain gave Derek a fake confused look. "If you didn't turn him to keep him connected to you, then why do it? And why let him become an omega? Seems like a waste of effort."

"I did it because I couldn't stand that jackass," Derek said coldly. "He was obsessed with getting the bite, thinking it would turn him into some great being – heh, it didn't. But who was I to deny what he wanted. So I bit him, but I did so in the hopes that the bite would take him the other way..."

"Wait, do you mean...?" Cain trailed off.

"Yeah, I bit him because I wanted him dead and I hoped the venom would finish him off," Derek finished without emotion. Then he looked Jackson straight in the eyes and added, "You know, stupid kid out alone in the woods gets attacked by an animal. The bite gets infected and the idiot dies. Too bad it didn't work out the way I hoped. But it wasn't like I wanted to be stuck with him so...he's an omega."

Derek watched as Jackson flinched, shock passing over face as he revealed the "truth" of the bite and then saw the hurt look and finally the anger settle on his face. He had really hoped that Jackson would get that Derek was saying this for his own good. If Cain thought Jackson meant nothing to Derek, then he would have no reason to hurt him. And it would just be Derek hurting him. Fuck Cain! Damn him and his pack!

"Ouch," Cain looked over at Jackson with what actually seemed like genuine pity. "Well then...so you wouldn't care if Jackson and I got to know each other a little bit better."

"Be my guest. He's no concern of mine," Derek said ambivalently. But unable to leave Jackson with no warning, he said to him, "But for some reason Scott cares about you and just for that alone, I'm gonna warn you. Stay away from Cain and his pack. They're bad news. They – "

Jackson interrupted him before he could reveal that Cain allowed his pack members to kill Erica. "I don't need your warnings," he spat angrily. "Like you said, I'm no concern of yours, so you can just take whatever the hell you were gonna say and shove it."

"Bravo!" Cain clapped. "Nice, Jackson. So, if you're done here, you wanna show me the way back to my hotel?"

"Yeah, let's go," Jackson shot Derek one last dark, anger and hurt filled look before turning and walking away with Cain.

Cain turned after a few steps and called back, "Don't forget to consider my offer. It really would be in your best interest." He smirked before continuing to saunter off with Jackson in tow.

Eyes glued to Jackson's shrinking figure, Derek watched as they disappeared, fists clenched so tightly he broke skin and felt a few drops of blood slip out. He stayed rooted to the spot until he could no longer hear their footsteps or Jackson's rapidly beating heart.

"Damnit! Fuck! Arrrghhh!" Derek punched the brick wall next to him over and over until a fist sized crater had formed. Looking at his fist he saw the torn skin and bleeding knuckles, though he hadn't felt the pain while he was punching the wall. He gritted his teeth and looked until he saw skin heal until the only evidence that remained of his violence was a fine sheen of dust from the bricks.

Derek was going to end Cain if it was the last thing he did. At least Jackson was physically safe from Cain for the moment. Derek could see that Cain was genuinely amused and interested in him despite his cavalier attitude. He just hoped he remained interested until Derek could figure out a way to destroy Cain and drive his pack out of town or somehow kill them all.

As he walked back to his car, Derek decided that he should probably go tell Scott about this latest unfortunate development. What with Scott's penchant for worrying for others, especially Jackson these days, he was certain to jump on board with both feet. And as annoying as Scott can be, Derek wasn't going to pass up any help from anyone, not this time, not with so much on the line.

* * *

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the inn where Cain was staying. Jackson stewed quietly as Derek's sharp words ripped through his mind over and over. The animosity coming from Derek was so thick, it was practically impenetrable. Why was he even surprised? It's not like Derek ever said or did anything that should make him think otherwise. But over and over again, Jackson felt hurt when Derek would tell him the truth. He sighed. When was he finally going to learn? And what exactly was going on with Cain and Derek? What offer?

Amused over this latest finding, Cain decided that this could definitely work out to his advantage, in more ways than one. He dropped an arm around Jackson's shoulder and held on firmly when Jackson jerked in reaction and sighed dramatically, "Man…that Derek Hale is some piece of work, huh? That was really cold of him. If I were you –"

Surprised by Cain's touch, it took Jackson a few seconds to react. He shoved Cain's arm off him, turned and said angrily, "Well you're not me. And what the hell is your deal anyway?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Cain said with smile.

"You knew what I was before I even saw you. You let me run into you on purpose," Jackson accused. "And I want to know why."

"Truth? Yeah, I knew what you were. I caught your scent from several blocks away. And you could say I was…intrigued," Cain answered. "There was something familiar about you, which turns out is because Derek turned you. But mostly, it was because you smelled really, really good." Cain winked at him and grinned rakishly as he watched several emotions flashed over Jackson's face.

Feeling his face burn, Jackson opened his mouth and closed it, again at a loss for words. "I don't know what to say," he admitted lamely.

"I tend to make people speechless," Cain said, eyes smoldering as he held Jackson's gaze. They had arrived at his door. "Did you want to come in? Get something to drink, hash out your feelings over what Derek said. It really was very bad of him to try to kill you. And a real shame too. What do you say? I'm really good at listening." Really good at other things too, he said with his eyes.

Slightly weak in the knees, Jackson said, "Umm, I'm good. It's late and I've got homework and stuff… Maybe some other time…"

"Yeah, for sure. I'll be sticking around for awhile. We should definitely hang out sometime." Cain turned around and unlocked the door. "Last chance. You sure you don't wanna come in?"

'He is totally flirting with me!' Jackson thought to himself. And the realization made him happier than he'd been in a long time. "Naw…but umm…maybe tomorrow or something? Will I find you here?"

"I'll find you," Cain promised and gave Jackson a look that sent heat flooding to his core.

With a nervous laugh, Jackson nodded, "Uh, ok. See you then." He had to get out of there right away, before his jeans got even more uncomfortable. Jackson turned around and tried to walk away as casually as possible. He could feel Cain's eyes on him the entire time until he turned around a corner.

Sagging against the wall Jackson turned in the direction where Cain was. Even though he couldn't see the alpha anymore, he still felt his presence so very clearly. And Cain wanted him, could see it in his eyes. 'I like you,' Jackson remembered his words and he smiled as he felt his face flush again. Cain wanted him, unlike Derek. Jackson's smile fell at the thought of the other alpha that had plagued his mind for weeks. Months, if he counted the time from when they first met. Fuck Derek. He didn't need him, Jackson assured himself. Not when he could have Cain.

Confidence boosted, Jackson started heading for the road and walked with a swagger that was reminiscent of old Jackson. Before he got there, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Instinctively he focused his hearing towards something heading his way. He heard loud music and a lot of laughter. He ducked into the shadow of the building and crouched behind some hedges just in time to see an SUV barrel into the parking lot, tires squealing as it turned the corner towards Cain's room.

His curiosity piqued, Jackson crept around the side and saw as five people got out. He realized that they were also werewolves. Cain's pack! He watched as Cain came out of his room and said something to them. Concentration lost, he didn't hear when he said. But there was something about these werewolves. They all had this intensity. Not like Scott or Isaac, but like Derek and Cain…like alphas.

Eyes widening, Jackson realized they were all alphas. A pack…full of alphas? Is that even possible? Then he remembered the look in Derek's eyes from earlier that night. He realized that Derek was worried and even a little scared. He'd never seen Derek scared before. Maybe he should have listened to Derek after all…

* * *

Reviews would be greatly appreciated. =)


	7. Chapter 7

RATING CHANGE: In anticipation for future chapters, when I post chapter 8, I will be changing the fic rating to M. So if you don't see it, be sure to check the rating filter.

And sorry for being MIA, but it's been a crazy summer. =/ Been working on this chapter since mid-July and finally finished! Hope it was worth the wait...

Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Wolf or anyone in it. If I did, I'd be busy having way too much fun doing _other stuff_. ^_~

* * *

**Redemption**

**Chapter 7**

As Jackson crouched in the shadows, he remembered that Cain mentioned that he and his pack were here to "visit someone," Jackson started to get the feeling that maybe that someone was Derek. He watched as the six alphas all went inside and slowly crept around until he was behind the building Cain's room was in.

If Jackson was as smart as he thought he was, he would probably get the hell out of there, but he couldn't help it. If there was something going on, he had to know. Jackson closed his eyes and focused until he could hear the voices on the other side of the wall.

"– gonna tell us that you found a pretty little piece?" Came a male voice.

"And how exactly would you know what he looked like?" Another male voice replied, which Jackson recognized as Cain.

"Because we know your type," a female voice chimed in. Were they talking about him?

"Don't worry about it, I've got plans for him," Cain said. Jackson could just imagine Cain saying that with his lazy smile and a shiver of anticipation ran through his body.

"What about Hale?" Another male voice asked. "I really don't think he's gonna play ball."

"Derek will come around. Eventually he'll realize that his pack will just hold him back and that if he joined us, he would be way better off," Cain said with a laugh.

"I doubt that. He seems really stubborn. Maybe if you hadn't let Athena and Avery run wild and kill that girl of his –"

"Will you shut up Wes?!" Cain hissed. Jackson could hear someone, probably Cain, jump and push someone else, probably this Wes guy, up against a wall. "God! You're like a broken record! What's done is done. Can't exactly put her back together again."

Jackson's breath hitched and his blood ran cold. Two of Cain's pack members killed Derek's "girl"? Were they talking about Erica? If that was true, no wonder Derek was so angry and even scared earlier that night. Because no matter how much Derek didn't like him, Jackson had never felt so much animosity and anger exude from him before. He had to find out more. Focusing his hearing again, Jackson strained to listen to every sound from Cain's room.

Wes continued to argue with Cain and their voices grew louder and then Jackson heard a second female voice say, "Stop it, someone might hear us."

"Like I care, let them hear," Cain replied. "Let them all hear. I'll just rip –"

Rip what? Rip they're throats out? Rip them apart? What? Jackson tried to hear what followed after Cain's words were suddenly cut off. He pressed his ear to the wall and strained to listen, but heard nothing but silence. After a few moments, he heard a tv being turned on. What was going on in there? He didn't think Cain's pack had left. Maybe if he went closer to the window.

"So, hear anything interesting?"

Shit! Jackson jumped up in shock and whirled around to find Cain behind him, his eyes glowing alpha red.

"How–how did you know?" Jackson backed up against the wall, hands suddenly clammy.

"I heard your heart racing. And recognized your scent," Cain said, the look on his face serious.

Jackson's breath hitched again and he swallowed hard. He was scared to death of Cain, but damn if it didn't make him feel kind of warm inside that Cain knew what he smelled like. No! Stop thinking like that, Cain's dangerous. The fact that he let his pack members kill Erica for sport proved it.

"I was leaving, bu–but then I–I wanted to talk you – umm some more," Jackson stammered, hoping to God Cain wouldn't rip his throat out. "I came back but s–saw umm...your pack?"

At Cain's silence, Jackson continued, "I w–was just curious what th–they were like..." Ugghhh...Lame. If he survived the next few minutes, Jackson would seriously kick himself.

"Haven't you heard? Curiosity killed the cat," Cain said blandly as he slowly inched closer.

"Uhh...so I guess lucky for me, I'm not a cat?" Jackson pressed himself back as far as he could despite the hard wall behind him.

"No, you're not a cat, just a scared little wolf pup. Heh," Cain let out a laugh, eyes fading back to normal. "If you wanted to know what my pack was like, you should have just knocked. Come on, I'll introduce you." Cain wrapped an arm around Jackson's shoulders and gave him no other option but move his feet as he was propelled towards the room.

"Th–That won't be necessary. It's late and I'd re–really hate to intrude and I really should get home, it's a long walk," Jackson tried to resist.

Keeping a tight hold on him, Cain continued moving forward, dragging Jackson along with him. "No intrusion, really. And I'm sure they'd like to meet you too. And don't worry, I'll give you a ride home."

Once inside, the door closed behind them as the two female alphas moved to lean against it. Jackson turned his head and gave them a nervous look before his eyes darted around the room, taking in all the alphas. There were five of them, six including Cain. God, he was so dead.

"Hey, relax. We don't bite," teased the blonde girl. "Well, we do, but –"

"But we won't hurt you," Cain interrupted. "I promise, you're safe here."

While Jackson's nerves were still frayed, for some strange reason, he got the feeling that Cain was telling the truth. Even though he didn't like the look he was getting from the raven haired alpha, Jackson knew that Cain wouldn't let the other alphas hurt him...at least not at that moment.

"Introductions, introductions. Jackson this is Athena and Avery," Cain gestured to the girls by the door, "that's Blake and that's Ashe, short for Ashley."

"Hey!" Ashe protested. "No sharing stuff like that." Then turning to look at Jackson with glowing red eyes, he said, "It's Ashe. If I ever hear anything other than Ashe out of your mouth, you're dead. Got it?"

Unable to find his voice, Jackson swallowed hard and simply nodded.

"And that sourpuss over there is Wes," Cain pointed to the black haired alpha.

So that was the alpha that dared to talk back to Cain. Jackson gave him a once over. Yup, scary as hell, but not half as scary as Cain. Jackson was beginning to really regret not listening to Derek earlier.

"Everyone, this is Jackson," Cain said as he ran his fingers through Jackson's hair and then down his neck, shoulder and arm.

It was clear, even to Jackson, that Cain was basically marking him as his territory. Telling his pack members that Jackson belonged to him. And even though it was humiliating, his skin burned wherever Cain's touch passed over. So Jackson stood there, allowing Cain to touch him because the alternative was too frightening. The last thing he wanted was for Cain to decide not to want him and throw him to his wolves, literally.

"All right, out, out." Cain shooed his pack out the door and closed it after them. Then turning to Jackson, he said, "Now, why don't you tell me why you were really eavesdropping on us?" Cain's eyes narrowed. "Did Derek put you up to it?"

"What? Derek? No!" Jackson denied. "Derek has no idea I'm here and even if he did, he wouldn't care. He hates me, remember? And he's not exactly my favorite person either. You heard what he said earlier."

"I did," Cain nodded. "But that could have been an elaborate ruse. After all, he is the one that turned you."

"Well, it's not," Jackson insisted harshly. "There's nothing between me and Derek except a lot of hate and anger. I'm not a part of his pack and I never wanted to be. And he wanted me dead, tried to kill me with the bite." Jackson could feel his pulse racing as all the emotions threatened to overwhelm him.

"Okay, okay," Cain placed a hand on his shoulder. "Alright, just calm down." He slowly moved his hand up to Jackson's neck and then without warning sank his claws deep into the back of Jackson's neck.

"Ahh!" Jackson shouted in pain.

"Shhh…it's okay, I was just making sure you were telling the truth," Cain soothed as he retracted his claws, satisfied that Jackson wasn't plotting with Derek. "But now I know I can trust you."

"Okay," Jackson nodded, trying to get over residual emotions and Cain's intrusion on his person. God, if he survived this, he was going to start going to church every Sunday, or maybe even join a monastery.

"Come on. I'll drive you home. We can talk more later." Cain grabbed his keys and led Jackson out to his car.

They drove to Jackson's house in silence and when Cain got back to the inn, he found his pack waiting for him.

"Are you sure you should keep him around?" Wes asked.

"Yeah. No matter what the circumstances, Derek turned him and that bond could still mean something," Ashe added.

"He's an omega and I'm positive there's nothing between them," Cain replied, his tone brooking no argument. "Do not question me. I'm the pack leader. And Jackson knows everyone in Derek's pack. We can get information from him to use against them."

"But do we really need information against them?" Blake asked. "Can't we just kill them all?"

"I know what I'm doing," Cain snarled. "If I want Jackson around, then he's gonna be around. Got it?"

"Fine, you enjoy your piece of ass, but if he tries anything, he's dead," Wes answered.

"He won't. I can handle him," Cain stared at each of them until they all looked away. "The plan hasn't changed okay? We're still here for one reason and that is Derek. And we're not gonna leave until we have him, one way or another."

Everyone nodded except Wes, who just remained silent.

"There's one little problem though," Athena brought up. "There's a branch of Argents in this town. They haven't been really active these last couple weeks, but their base is pretty secure. They could be a problem."

Blake laughed, "How big of a problem could they be? We've handled plenty of 'problems' and they haven't been able to kill anyone."

"He's right, they shouldn't be an issue," Avery added. "Why don't we just go and take them out now?"

"Because we don't want to attract any unwanted attention to ourselves," Wes answered. "Even if we can kill them and make it look like an accident, their deaths wouldn't go unnoticed. Don't forget, just because we've handled the random hunter we've crossed paths with, doesn't mean they're all that easy to get rid of. And if Rickard hears about a bunch of hunters dying here, he'd know it was us for sure."

"Thank you, Wes, for being such a resounding downer. You never cease to bore me," Cain said with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm just thinking of the pack Cain. Putting it first. Unlike you," Wes accused.

Suddenly the room got very quiet. The tension was electric, and not in a good way.

"Get out," Cain said quietly and furiously, eyes pinned on Wes' as the other alphas quickly cleared the room. "I am so sick and tired of you dragging me down. You've had a stick up your ass ever since I became the pack leader. Always questioning me, second guessing my decisions. But that's what I am: the pack leader. Do you understand? Now if you want to challenge me for the position, go right ahead. In fact, I dare you."

Wes didn't reply, he knew it would be suicide to challenge Cain, at least for now. "I just want you to put the pack first. And I really don't want a repeat of the whole Stephen situation."

"Jackson isn't Stephen. So drop it," Cain said with finality.

"You're right, Jackson isn't Stephen, he's a lot worse," Wes said with a smirk. "Ever heard of a Kanima?" He asked as he tossed some folded sheets of paper to Cain and walked towards the door. He paused and continued, "The hunters, Derek, none of them could stop him. And from what I know, there's a chance a Kanima could resurface." With that, he walked out.

Cain glared after him and crumpled up the papers. As if he didn't read the articles about the strange "animal attacks." But Cain was the pack leader, the strongest of them all and he wasn't about to let any of them tell him what to do. Jackson was a rare treat and Cain was determined to have him. And from what he learned that night, it shouldn't be hard to accomplish. Jackson was an omega. Without an alpha and pack, he had to be lonely. And Cain could see the effect he had on Jackson. He knew that he could easily make Jackson want to be with him. And then an idea started forming in his mind. Two birds with one stone. Cain smiled to himself. Damn, he was good.

* * *

Jackson burned as strong hands blazed a path of fire across his chest. He shuddered as hot lips grazed the back of his neck.

"Oh God," he groaned.

"Mmm…you like that, huh?" A deep voice asked.

"Yessss…" He hissed.

The hands slowly moved down his torso until they reached the top of his jeans. They undid the button and zipper and toyed with the waist band of his boxer briefs before stopping.

"You want more?" The voice teased.

"You know I do, Derek," Jackson whispered, desperate for the hands to continue.

"What the hell are you talking about? That's not me."

Jackson jerked his head up to see Derek standing in front of him with a disgusted look on his face.

"W–wait, I…" he stammered.

"You actually thought I would touch you like that?" Derek asked derisively. "As if I would ever. I'd sooner cut off my arm than touch you. You have nothing I want. You're nothing but a weak loser…loser…loser…" The harsh voice echoed as Derek faded into the mist surrounding them.

"Why?" Jackson whispered forlornly. Then he realized that strong arms were still wrapped around his waist. But if it wasn't Derek, who was it?

"Don't be sad. You still have me." A hand on his shoulder suddenly turned him around to find Cain facing him.

He sucked in an audible gasp. "Cain!"

"Who else would it be?" Cain smiled predatorily. "I want you. And now I know you want me too."

"No!" Jackson shouted as he bolted upright in bed. He was breathing hard and drenched in sweat and he could still feel Cain's hands on him. "It was only a dream…" Except that his dreams of Derek didn't turn out to just be dreams. "Why is this happening?" He groaned and flopped back down on his bed.

Jackson looked at the clock: 4:08 AM. He had been tossing and turning for hours as sleep escaped him. And when he finally managed to fall asleep, the dream happened. No, not a dream. It was a nightmare. After everything he found out that night, dreaming of Cain should be a nightmare…right?

He ran his fingers over the back of his neck. Nothing but smooth skin now, but he still remembered the searing pain when Cain's claws sank into him; the same place where Derek had as well. He became linked to Derek when Derek did it to him. Was that how it would be from now on? Would he be linked to Cain? God, he hoped not.

As Jackson lay in bed, his mind went back to the previous night's events, even though part of him wished to forget it all. He wished that he had left immediately after walking back to the inn with Cain. And he really wished he never went with Cain in the first place. And actually, he wished he hadn't gone jogging at all, then none of it would have happened. Jackson flopped over and grabbed a pillow, burying his face under it.

What in the world compelled him to eavesdrop on their conversation? Seriously, six alphas versus one practically brand new omega. If Cain had felt inclined, he wouldn't be in his nice comfy bed right now. Despite the reassurances he had received from Cain, Jackson wasn't completely naive. He knew that his well being could change on a dime if he made Cain angry. There was something in his eyes when he was looking at him, something not quite right. Cain might play casual and laid back, but Jackson could sense that he was like a landmine, ready to blow at any given moment, just waiting for something to set him off.

There were a lot of things that Jackson wished could be different, but most of all wished he could forget Derek's harsh words. Sighing, Jackson knew that it was pointless to hope and wish, after all, didn't he hope and wish the whole Kanima thing had never happened? When was he going to learn? Jackson asked himself once again. It's not like he did anything to show Derek that he could be trusted. How many times did he have to have this argument with himself before it would finally sink into his thick skull? After everything Jackson had said and done, the way he treated everyone.

Wait a sec... Then it hit Jackson. Derek didn't trust him, because he had never done anything to earn it. But what if he did? Jackson thought back to Cain. It was the perfect opportunity to finally do something for someone else for a change. Cain said he trusted him. He would hang out with Cain, pretend to reciprocate whatever Cain wanted and find out what exactly he and his pack were doing in Beacon Hills and how it was connected to Derek. Then Jackson would tell Derek whatever he found out. And even if Derek still didn't want anything to do with him after that, at least Jackson would know that he really tried.

Just as soon as the idea had formed in his mind, a part of him started screaming no, no, no! Danger, danger, danger! And with this dream, how could he even think that getting close to Cain was a good idea?! What if something happened? Worse yet, what if a part of him wants it to?

"Oh that's just great!" Jackson sat up and ran a hand down his face. Joining a monastery seemed like a way better option. Except, he owed it to Derek to try and help him. That and being celibate forever really didn't sound like a good life choice for himself. No, Jackson had to find out what Cain was up to because he knew that Derek would go after Cain, if not for anything else, but because Erica had been murdered.

Poor Erica. Jackson was never friends with her and never really even noticed her; that is until after Derek turned her. But even then, unless she was right in front of him threatening to kill him, Jackson didn't think of her. He was too busy thinking of himself, as usual. Although in his defense the whole Kanima thing was a pretty big deal. But no matter what, it was a really shitty way to go and she didn't deserve to die like that. No one did.

Now, if Jackson could just somehow keep his cool around Cain. He'll have to figure it out, because he was determined to go through with his crazy scheme. Jackson was going to do it for Derek. He looked at his clock again; 4:52 AM. Just great.

* * *

Don't forget, the rating will change to M when I post the next chapter.

Also, is it just me, or did the show change what omegas were...cuz in S2 E1, didn't Derek tell Scott that omegas were packless and basically rejects. But in S3 E9 (?), one of the twins said that they were omegas while in their old pack... -_-;; Whatever, I'm sticking to the first explanation...

Please R&R =)


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